Lincolnshire school gets ‘top pot’ in national awards

A Market Rasen area primary school has secured the top spot in the national Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) competition - after growing 3,800 grams of spuds in less than three months,
Faldingworth school gets top pot in national awards.Faldingworth school gets top pot in national awards.
Faldingworth school gets top pot in national awards.

Competing against almost half a million primary school pupils across England, Scotland and Wales, 70 children from Faldingworth Community Primary School dug deepest, growing and harvesting almost 225g more potatoes than any other school in Britain.

Potato variety ‘Rocket’ performed best for the school, with growth fuelled by a special ingredient.

Rita Griggs, Teaching Assistant at Faldingworth Community Primary School, said: “Reducing food waste is really important, so we decided to mix used coffee from the filter machine into the soil to help them grow. That could be the secret to our success.

“The children particularly enjoyed harvesting and finding the potatoes hidden in the soil. All kids should know where their food comes from and how it grows. Grow Your Own Potatoes is a great, fun way to teach this.”

On behalf of farmers and growers, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), organises the free activity for schools, which can now register to take part in GYOP 2020.

AHDB Education Manager Sue Lawton, said: “While the competition is great fun, we’re also educating children on how potatoes fit into a healthy, balanced diet, where they come from and how they grow.

“We had a fantastic uptake with almost 16,000 kits sent out to primary schools all hoping to win the top spot, or one of the 10 regional prizes up for grabs. Growing kits are limited so don’t miss out and sign up now for 2020.”

• To find out more about Grow Your Own Potatoes visit www.growyourownpotatoes.org.uk.